Greetings guys!
Been a while, Console Combat has been on hiatus for a while - but we return today for the Lakeland Video game expo, hosted by none other than Ghaleon, everyone's favorite organizer of Seasons Beatings Fame.
He is now running gaming events under the GDL Entertainment Moniker, and you can check out the event on his site here:
http://gdlent.com/lvexpo/
ANd as always, you can check out our stream at www.twitch.tv/consolecombat

When Monster Hunter was announced a year ago, I was excited for this game, since I understand how to play Monster Hunter and I know people who also finally understand how to play Monster Hunter on a good level. Working as a group can be really fun! I've been looking forward to another opportunity to play this on a big screen and relieve my hands of several years of cramping and give my eyes a break from squinting.

However, I watched a stream of this game on its release day and several days after, and it seemed all too familiar to the Wii version, Tri. It sort of makes sense. They are the same series, but you can never be sure with Capcom games whether it's a "Turbo" or a "Gaiden".

Maybe people outside of my circle, in videogameland at large, were clamoring for this, but it makes no sense (to me) to port a 2010 game in 2013. Why is this the game Capcom decides to push in the US?

This isn't totally Capcom's problem, but the Wii U and 3DS might as well be dead systems to me and the majority of gamers. They seem like interesting systems, but there are no games. I have played with a 3DS, it tempts me every so often with re-releases and Japan only games and its price cuts. I've still not decided to pull the trigger and buy one. I don't even have any Wii U or 3ds accoutrements on my CheapAssGamer.com price alert list, because there's simply nothing that interests me on them. The Wii U is, and everyone will likely agree, the first mainstream console failure since the American release of the Sega Saturn. It says a lot of Nintendo and Capcom that the "big game" being pushed this quarter is an upscaled port of a 2010 game.

I don't respect the opinions being thrown by the masses that Monster Hunter actually needs a second stick. I got along just fine with the Monster Hunter Portable games on the original PSP, but the game really shouldn't have been on a Nintendo system to begin with! I think if Capcom wants Monster Hunter to be a success in the US, it's going to have to sell the game on its online play, and (please prove me wrong) I really doubt Nintendo has their shit together on that front.

There are other fine people like me that are disappointed because Monster Hunter as a concept is excellent, but I'm more in love with the game suggested by Monster Hunter than I am with the current Monster Hunter, and in traditional Capcom fashion they are refusing to innovate once they got a lock on a franchise that starts selling well. I ended up playing Capcom's Lost Planet 2 around the time Monster Hunter Portable 3 was released, and I felt Capcom had some bold strategy they were leading up to, but have decided to not take anywhere. Monster Hunter Wii however, gets ported to new systems, and Lost Planet 3 is out-sourced to some no-name Western development house just like Devil May Cry and Bionic Commando were and in-turn an uncertain future.

Another great turnout with ~80 gamers in attendance. We introduced Halo 4 and I was extremely happy with the turnout. The players were highly competitive and highlighted Halo's potential in our tournament scene. Matt and Joe held it down and took our first Halo 4 team tournament. SSF4 AE had a familiar outcome with CORN's alucarD taking ANOTHER Console Combat monthly. alucarD continues his dominance in this game. CoCo's Matt Shultz comes in second with CoCo's Brennan Karaba taking third. OMG itz Andre adds another UMVC3 championship to his impressive resume.

Mortal Kombat 9 featured some of the best players in the world. Three time EVO champ, CoCo Perfect Legend, was in attendance. Galloping Ghost arcade also showed up and came to play. Perfect Legend and 16 bit give us a highly entertaining grand finals.

you can catch the video archive on www.twitch.tv/consolecombat/videos also, we will be uploading matches to youtube this week in our first ever 1080p uploads!

We are not having a monthly next month (December) but we will return in January at a new venue! (details coming soon)

Well, you should. The blacktastic is emerging as one of the premier commentators in the Fighting Game Community. A fresh new perspective in the FGC and a lot of energy. He has been the face of the Console Combat Stream. Recently, The Blacktastic commentated at Season's Beatings Ascension and Youmacon. Working side by side with the likes of Ultra David, IFC Yipes, Skisonic and other notable commentators in the community.

Not only does The Blacktastic's Personality make it hard for people to leave the stream, his knowledge and technical ability adds clout to his perspective. He has finished top 8 and top 16 in several majors for a variety of games though his best game by far is UMVC3 and the best Captain America in the business.

You can catch The Blacktastic at the upcoming Console Combat Monthly and NEC in the near future.

I will leave you with a small sample of the Hype brought to the stream when The Blacktastic is on the Mic. Click Here.

A short while ago, several members of Console Combat traveled to Detroit, MI to compete in Youmacon 2012. The event was excellent and Focus Fire did much of the ground work for this Major. I did not know what to expect as I have never been to Youmacon before though I was very pleasantly surprised by the turnout. Some of the biggest names in the scene were in attendance including F Champ, Justin Wong, PR Balrog, Ricky Ortiz, Yipes, et cetera. In three separate games, Console Combat made their presence known. Click the below link to read more...

Recently, we had the pleasure of working with a local Game Stop in North Olmsted, Ohio. We worked together to bring you a midnight release tournament. We want to thank everyone who came out to participate. We will be working with this Game Stop in the future for all competitive title releases.

For Halo 4, there were ~100 pre-orders at this location. Kate, who is the manager of this location, has been working very hard to identify her store as the Midnight Release/Tournament location for all upcoming competitive titles. We look forward to working with this store in the future.

Below, you can find the Halo 4 Grand Finals captured by Rob Khonsu and i208.net (our official media consultant)

A couple days ago I went to see a movie that clearly markets itself to me. It's called Wreck-It-Ralph. While it wasn't my favorite recent Disney movie, I found it to be a perfectly adequate movie that has videogames at the center. Extra thoughts about the film:

Wreck-it-Ralph felt like it ran out of videogame jokes about a third of the way through the movie and switched over to food jokes for the rest. I wonder if parts of the movie were recycled from a script for a film about the board game Candy Land? Speaking of jokes, early on in the film there was a violent gag involving Kano that made the parents in the audience wince. Considering how the rest of the movie goes, it really seemed out of place in context. However, it does hold the distinction of being the only evisceration joke I've seen in a Disney cartoon.

Between Wreck-It Ralph, Up, Shrek, and Monsters Inc. it seems a lot of animated films are about lumpy old guys who complain about their day jobs. Is that what the kids are into nowadays?

Speaking of what kids can identify with, I found it interesting to see what worked and what didn't as far as references go in this movie. All the guest characters worked thanks to how good their intial designs were. Even if the younger viewers don't recognize Q-Bert they could still appreciate him since he's an odd, funny little character who was designed to grab your attention in an arcade. It also helps that video games have become so integrated into popular culture that seeing them referenced in a movie now seems almost natural. Instead, it's the recreation of an arcade that will probably mean nothing to the younger viewers. Most arcades in the US shut down long before any of these children were born. The references to placing quarters on a game cabinet to signal your place in line is going to be an alien concept to them. Heck, most of them have probably never seen an arcade cabinet. Wreck-It Ralph ends up feeling like like more of a period piece.

Wow! It has been a long time since I have posted here on the old CoCo Blog. With midterms coming and going along with a deluge of reports coming in on the next front, I barely enough time to even formulate a good thought to keyboard. Since I have not been playing many new fighting games lately, I will share some of what I have been doing lately.

I have recently just watched the new Iron Chef series and man, I don't know, it's alright? It starts off on a bit of a sad note. This may be a spoiler, but this series starts out in a graveyard with flashbacks of chairman Kaga. Afterwards, you see the new chairman praying in front of a tombstone before the show begins. This only means one thing! He killed off chairman Kaga! I have not been this sad since the death of Optimus Prime and the passing of The Matrix.

Upon watching more though, the reason the producers killed off Kaga is clear after the first episode concludes. Basically, the theme of the show seems to be about the next generation of younger chefs that are inheriting the Iron Chef stage today. In fact, the first contenders were Iron Chef Michiba and Chin's disciples.

The new chairman though, he doesn't seem to have that manly charisma to fit Kaga's big glittery shoes. Shouting "De Gastronomy!" instead of "A la Cuisine!" just doesn't have the same panache, either. However, thanks to modern high definition digital 3DTV, the food is absolutely mouthwatering to the eyes. The color and details of the dishes are so vibrant!

SBa! as pools finish up, we will be scanning and uploading Brackets. If there is no hyperlink, the information is not uploaded yet. We are the official stream of SBa so check it out at www.twitch.tv/consolecombat. Follow us on twitting @console_combat for updates throughout the weekend.

Dieminion recently post a gret write up concerning his visit to Japan. His friends/sponsor in Brokentier posted it. Check it out, its a must read. Here Keep in mind that Kevin 'Dieminion' Landon has been one of the most consistent players in the United States over the past few years.

I found somethign interesting cruising through various SNK fansites and this was the most odd/interesting thing I ran across today. I am posting it here so I don't forget to read the entire thing for myself when I get home.

The top KOF13 Terry player in Japan has become the biggest news in the anime industry this week, but not because of his 'ARE YOU OK' gaming skills. Hell, he even became headline on Kotaku.

Mitsuhiro Yukichi (you can see him play against Tokido here and here) works his dayjob as a professional voice actor. In fact, he became a voice actor because of his dream to one day do a character in KOF! Talk about being a hardcore fan! He's already in his 30's but so far he hasn't had his big break yet, living off on minor roles.

And as everyone knows, small-time voice actors are treated like crap.

In Yukichi's case, he was humiliated to a pulp on broadcast thanks to an idiot producer at Kingrecords who thought that lying to him about getting a role in a new anime would be funny, and the harassment continued as a part of a janitor-level job thrown at him (not like he can quit) until recently when the news of this prank finaly got out. It was pretty depressing to see him being played with by a voice actress who kept cranking up the voltage on a massage gizmo strapped on his body while he was trying to make a presentation in one of his publicity jobs. The public's reaction to this event has been ugly after they the whole incident came to light. The anime's corresponding radio show was forced to cancel for this unfair treatment of the man.

Hey, guys. DMG.MCZ Blacktastic here and GVN Summer Jam VI has taken off today at the Sheraton Suites in good ol' Philadelphia, PA! I know you guys want to get caught up with all the news of what's going on tonight, so right now, I have a little treat for you. Hit the jump and you'll have a little peek at all eight pools from the Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition tournaments this weekend!

There are probably only three of you that will know what I'm talking about, but...

It looks like the upstanding dude at Nicalis has picked up "Yata," aka Yatagarasu, the cool doujin 3S clone, for a Western release. http://vimeo.com/47897199

You may remember Nicalis as the company that released a variety of hella-buggy ports of Cave Story on various platforms which included fan mods to the freeware version as "bonus features" without permission, and the company that jerked the La Mulana developers around for months about how the process of getting approved for WiiWare in the US was not proceeding.

Update: aug 23 - Dang nabbit. This version of the game is a stinking 3DS port. The trailer was also a sloppily thrown together video of the PC version running in a 3DS frame! It's not even an accurate trailer!